Our very first Lenten observance is not fasting, nor praying, not even alms-giving. No. Absolutely not! It is rather to sit down and work out some basic algebra. What does 40 and 50 have in common with 3?
40, 3, 50. These numbers are inseparable. When you add them up, they make one single number: Christian life. Lent does not exist in itself, neither does Easter-time. The 40 days of Lent and the 50 days of Easter surround the 3 days of the Paschal Triduum.
If we want to understand the meaning of Lent and keep its spirit, we cannot start off from Ash Wednesday, from fasting and penance. No! The only place we can start is the Paschal Vigil and from the waters of the Baptismal font blessed on that very night. Baptism is a passage, a movement of descent and ascent, a ‘pass-over’ from death to new life. It marks the burial of the ‘old man’ and the birth of the ‘new man’. It is the end of a life dominated by fear, sin and lies and the beginning of a life where we can be free to forgive and rest in the truth of being loved.
It is from the waters of Baptism that comes forth the call to conversion and the grace to change. It is in Baptism that we receive the Spirit to live the new life of the children of God. The desert of Lent is inseparable from the Promised Land of Easter. Fasting is followed by Milk and Honey. Prayer turns into Songs. Alms-giving leads to fruits-reaping. Simple, very simple, it is the Christian algebra!
Fr Ivano
